We’ve done a lot of hiking and backpacking, but have never done a coastal hike and fall break 2024 seemed like a great opportunity to give it a try. We spent four days backpacking the Lost Coast and it was amazing. Damp, but amazing. We also had a chance to see the Humboldt Redwoods and loved wandering the groves to take in these impressive, beautiful trees. It was our first time visiting this area of California and we had a terrific time. This was our final itinerary:

Day 0: Drove to Las Vegas (Xiao Long Dumplings!)
Day 1: Early morning flight to San Francisco, a stop at the Presidio to see the Golden Gate Bridge before heading north, visited the delightful Charles M. Schulz Museum and enjoyed an excellent lunch at Grossmans in Santa Rosa, camped at Humboldt Redwoods State Park for the night
Day 2: Drove the Avenue of the Giants and walked through several different redwoods groves, a windy drive to Shelter Cove and camped at Shelter Cove RV Campground for the night
Day 3: Early morning shuttle to Mattole Beach and started our Lost Coast hike.
Day 4: Lost Coast hike
Day 5: Lost Coast hike
Day 6: Finished our Lost Coast hike, relaxed in Shelter Cove, overnight at Black Sands Inn (lovely!)
Day 7: Made our way to Fort Bragg, stopping at viewpoints on Highway 1 along the way; great lunch at Noyo Fish Company, checked out downtown and Glass Beach, tasty dinner at Mayan Fusion, overnight at Harbor Lite Lodge
Day 8: Headed back to San Francisco with stops at the Mendocino Headlands and a few other viewpoints, had lunch at Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, dinner at Yuanbao Jiaozi (more dumplings - yum!) in Burlingame, overnight near the airport
Day 9: Flight back to Las Vegas and drove home. Tried Kusina De Maynila in Kingman for lunch and couldn’t believe we hadn’t eaten there before - it was great!